Management and Cultivation of the Huaya India (Melicoccus oliviformis Kunth) on the Yucatan Peninsula

Abstract

The domestication of plants, an evolutionary process of importance worldwide, has been widely studied in annual species but very little in perennial species, especially fruit trees. Most studies of domestication have focused on the comparison of morphological characteristics between wild and cultivated populations and on patterns of evolution of phenotypic characteristics that are under selection, known as the domestication syndrome. The objective of this research was to investigate the domestication status of populations of Huaya India (Melicoccus oliviformis, Sapindaceae) in the Yucatan Peninsula using ethnobotanical and morphological evidence. The species is cultivated in both rural and urban communities in this area, and wild populations of Huaya India are found surrounding these sites. We gathered ethnobotanical data by conducting semi-structured interviews and through participatory observation. For each fruit, sugar content and morphological characteristics were measured in situ. The results show the Huaya India presents minimal differences between wild and cultivated fruits in characteristics that are often associated with domestication (weight, length, fruit diameter, exocarp thickness, and sugar content). We attribute these results to the unconscious management to which this species has been and continues to be subjected by the inhabitants of the Maya communities, but further study is needed to determine the extent to which the observed differences reflect genetic differences due to human selection, environmental effects, or a combination of the two.